Thursday, October 27, 2022

Friday Food: The Last Harvest

Friday 

Short version: Beef, rice, green salad with ranch dressing

Long version: I pressure-canned a bunch of pinto beans in the morning, so I decided to put the pressure canner/cooker to work again before washing it and pressure cooked a lot of beef ribs, ox tail, and soup bones to make stock. And to get those bulky bony things out of the freezer so there's room for the new cow we're getting next month.

I pulled all the meat off those bones and fried some of it in tallow with spices for dinner. 

The rest of dinner was pretty easy, because I had been in the kitchen all day and I was tired.

Saturday

Short version: Barbecue beef, rice, raw green beans or salad

Long version: We were at our monthly Saturday Mass, which meant we didn't get home until 5 p.m. Dinners are always quick on these days. More of the beef, this time just mixed with barbecue sauce. More rice, with butter. And the children had the raw green beans, while A. and I had salad.

Sunday

Short version: End-of-garden-season feast, pots de creme

Long version: With the first freeze forecast for Monday, I spent much of the weekend harvesting and dealing with the last of the things from the garden. That included dill, parsley, basil, lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, green beans, beets, carrots, and potatoes.


Not necessarily a lot of all of those things, but something is better than nothing.

I had taken out one of the leg roasts from the last ram we had butchered, too, so it ended up being a meal featuring food we grew ourselves. 

So! Roasted lamb with a yogurt sauce. My children pointed out that I did not "grow" the yogurt sauce and suggested yet again that we should get a milk cow. I told them we grew the garlic in it, and that's about as close as we're going to get on that one.

Also the newly-dug potatoes roasted with the lamb; the last green beans roasted in a separate pan; lettuce, tomatoes, beets, and cucumber from the garden; and the dill and garlic in the ranch dressing for the salad.


I made a dill bouquet to keep it fresh for as long as I can.

I also made pesto from the last tiny leaves of the basil plants, as well as some carrot tops to bulk it up a bit. Some of that went into the tomato sauce I made with roasted the ripe tomatoes--there are lots of green ones in boxes that will ripen slowly--with more garlic and then pureed with the beet greens.

I'm ready for the food preservation season to be over now. Bring on eating season.

Monday

Short version: Recombined leftovers, raw kohlrabi

Long version: I had more of the beef that had come off the stock bones, so I chopped that up and fried it with some of the roasted tomato sauce and topped that with shredded mozzarella. 

I had made garlic bread the day before, so there was that, too.

The last kohlrabi of the season. I got four or five from the fall garden. They weren't as big as the ones I grew in the spring, but again, something is better than nothing.

Tuesday

Short version: Dilly beef, bread and butter or rice, green salad with ranch dressing, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

Long version: I took out the last package of stir-fry beef, which I braised with some of the beef stock, a bit of liquid from the refrigerator dill pickles, and a lot of dill from the dill bouquet. I added some sour cream at the end, too.

I made the cookies because the oven was on most of the day anyway to cook one of the biggest of the calabazas A. grew. 

He weighed it. It was thirty pounds. That is, to state the obvious, a LOT of squash.


Eight quart bags of pureed squash, to be precise.

Most went into the freezer, although I kept some in the refrigerator for short-term use.

Wednesday

Short version: Spaghetti and meatballs

Long version: One of my many and varied duties at the school is sitting in the preschool room during naptime so the preschool teacher can have a break. This means that I have 30 minutes in a dark room to do nothing but think and try not to fall asleep myself. I'm sure it will surprise none of you that I often think about dinner.

During this thinking time, I had been planning to make the tuna-melt quesadillas I had mentioned awhile ago, but then I suddenly remembered the extra meatballs I had put in the freezer the last time I made them. And the roasted tomato sauce and pesto in the refrigerator.

Serendipity. 

So when I got home, I put the frozen meatballs in the oven to bake with the tomato sauce, made some spaghetti that also got some of the tomato sauce, some of the pesto, and butter, and that was dinner.

So easy. I can see why people buy pre-made stuff.

The tomato sauce had beet greens in it, so I decided that was enough vegetable.

Thursday

Short version: Chili, baked rice pudding

Long version: I had two pint jars of pinto beans that hadn't sealed when I canned beans, the pureed calabaza, and some more tomatoes that had ripened. This, plus two pounds of ground beef and a quart jar of beef stock, became the chili. Oh, and the last of the beet greens that I pureed with the tomatoes so no one could detect them.

I have cracked the code on chili for my family. Everyone eats it and likes it. Hooray.

I was actually cooking a brisket in the oven most of the day (for a later meal), so I made a few other things at the same time, including the rice pudding. My biggest Pyrex had the brisket in it, so I used the 13"x9" Pyrex and made 2.5 times the recipe, using 2.5 quarts of milk, 1/3 cup of rice, and 1/3 cup of sugar. It fit, and was enough for everyone to have seconds. Good to know.

Okay, your turn! What'd you eat this week?

13 comments:

  1. Despite my best intentions to cook more, life conspired against me. It's like that this entire semester.
    Fri- boring baked chicken, rice, corn, broccoli. Picky eater thought chicken was dry and doesn't like rice, so he ate cereal.
    Sat- homemade pizza, homemade chocolate cake for husband's birthday. I cooked his pizza a ittle too long, but he likes a crisp crust. He got it deep dish style cooked in the cast iron pan. Cake very moist and delicious.
    Sun- chicken dinner repeat with pineapple included. I did warm up chicken either some liquid so picky eater ate some. Though he did have a bagel too.
    Mon- reliable pasta, Italian sausage, and garlic bread.
    Tues- I was going to be out of town with child at Dr appointment, so I ordered domino's in the early afternoon . Success. Picky eater ate grilled cheese after we got home from appt. The kid doesn't like warmed up pizza. More for the rest of us!
    Wed- one boy has started basketball practice so this gets patchwork again. Hamburgers and chips for some, grilled cheese for others, applesauce.

    Thurs- I was at parent teacher conference for about 3 hours in the afternoon, so leftover pizza, banana muffins. Grilled cheese for picky boy . I had cheerios.
    Baking this week- cinnamon rolls, chocolate cake, chocolate chip cookie bars, cheese braid.
    Enjoy the fall weather!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Saturday: potluck gathering for the Sunday School class and their families

    Sunday: Leftovers. Both kids and I woke up not feeling well. I declared a rest day And pulled out leftovers when they said they were hungry.

    Monday: Leftovers

    Tuesday: my four-year-old woke up in the middle of the night crying of your pain. He was diagnosed with a double ear infection and had a high fever most of the day. While out getting the prescription I picked up a single serving pot pie from the deli for my daughter. I ate a bowl of cereal.

    Wednesday: my son was still sick, my daughter started getting sick, and the 18 year old dog got sick. So, I threw some frozen chicken fillets in the air fryer, made some macaroni cheese and mixed in some rice cauliflower a vegetable mixture and called it good.
    Also made the dog some boiled chicken and rice for his dinner.

    Thursday: chicken with brown sugar and bourbon seasoning over rice, Holy’s cabbage

    Friday: I’m starting to feel like I’m getting sick so we shall see….

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Woof...you win. Rough last weekend and week for you and yours.
      If it were me I'd declare a state of emergency where everyone camps out in pajamas while watching movies and eating grilled cheese sandwiches.

      Feel better!

      Delete
  3. mbmom11...wanna trade one picky eater for an adult who will be glad to eat anything you fix, plus all bakery items are welcome?! Someone who would appreciate it all!!!!!!! ;)

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    Replies
    1. You're always welcome at my table! But I'll keep my picky eater. I am still picky myself, so I understand him. He'd starve without me!

      Delete
  4. outdoor family event - party food
    takeout
    mexican meal of rice/shrimp w/lettuce & tomatoes on top, apple slices
    beef tips sweet potatoes in crockpot, broccoli, garlic bread
    chicken/spinach/mushrooms casserole, garlic knots, twice baked potatoes
    chicken tortillas, zucchini/mushrooms sauteed
    same thing for tonight
    Linda

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  5. Andra: Well, that's a not-fun week. I really hope this coming week is better, and that everyone in your household feels okay.Especially given the craziness that is Halloween with little kids.

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  6. Friday-chicken fried steak, pasta, coleslaw, vanilla pudding. The 7 year old had one bite of meat, pasta, and pudding. I
    Saturday-chicken strips, baked potatoes, peas
    Sunday-last camping trip of the season. Soup, and biscuits cooked on the griddle. Oatmeal chocolate chip bars with raisins.
    Monday-hamburger stew in the crockpot (electric site in campground), s'mores
    Tuesday-bacon, eggs, toast, s'mores
    Wednesday-home again. Meat pies.
    Thursday-leftover soup, cornbread

    Andra: bummer week. I hope this one is better!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Friday: lunch was a strip steak, as I had given blood the day before. Celery root soup for supper.
    Saturday: chicken biryani using Mark Bittman's recepe, with curried carrots, which I wasn't crazy about. The chicken biryani was great, however.
    Sunday: strip steak, sweet potato, popcorn.
    Monday: gently rewarmed chicken biryani, left over carrots with yogurt stirred in, which improved them.
    Tuesday: More of the same.
    Wednesday: old friends as overnight guests: green chile and pork stew with posole, coleslaw. Dessert was apples, cheese, and nuts.
    Thursday: guacamole, popcorn at the golf course bar, some curried carrots with yogurt, leftover coleslaw
    Friday: leftover green chile stew with the addition of some potato. Great food!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hello, this week we ate:

    Monday - Kasha with leftover chicken scraps mixed in , roasted yams, cottage cheese.

    Tuesday - Refried bean and cheese omelettes, hash browns, toast.

    Wendsday - Mushroom and browned onion strudel, green salad.

    Thursday - Had some leftover onions so I made french bread onion pizzas, veggie tray and dip.

    Friday - Made chicken salad so I made sandwich melts, roast potatoes wedges with horseradish dip to go with.

    This weekend - Plan on making enough taco fixings to carry us through the weekend.

    Happy weekend and Halloween everyone!

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  9. JP2: Yes, they're edible. Not to say all that great, but edible. Fine for bulking up a pesto, or maybe adding to soup, but not really as a stand-alone vegetable.

    ReplyDelete